SV-001 (Metal Slug)
The Metal Slug is a Super Vehicle developed by the Regular Army. It is the namesake of the Metal Slug video game franchise. Role in the series In 2028, the Rebel Army launched a massive attack against the Regular Army forces around the world. Although the Regular Army intelligence agency had many indications that such an attack was imminent, the corrupt higher-ups within the chain of command ignored the warnings. With the Regular Army forces surprised, the Rebels nearly annihilated them with their superior numbers and emergent technologies. The Regular Army planned a massive counter-attack against the Rebel Army. Advanced prototype tanks, designated "Super Vehicle-001" (nicknamed "Metal Slug") were designed to aid the Regular Army commandos, and were in the process of being converted to operational status by resistance fighters. Despite the Regular Army's best efforts to keep the SV-001 a secret, the project was discovered by Rebel spies, and as a result, many tanks were captured by the Rebel Army in a crushing attack. Marco Rossi and Tarma Roving are sent to recover the stolen Metal Slugs before the Rebel Army could make use of them, destroying them if there are no other options. It can be safely assumed that enough of the tanks were recovered for use in the final assault on the Rebels, as they can be seen in the final mission against General Morden; this assault would lead to the end of the First Modern War. Now safely in the hands of the Regular Army, the SV-001 would be continued in use for seemingly all major threats from then on, such as the Second Modern War and the White Baby Crisis. Sometime in the year 2031, the laboratory developing the next generation of Metal Slugs comes under attack and a data disc containing Metal Slug secrets is seized. Marco Rossi and Tarma Roving are ordered to retrieve the disc, and rush to track it down. Meanwhile, Eri and Fio, who are investigating the paramilitary organization known as the Ptolemaic Army that is raiding historical ruins, succeed in tracking it down at an ancient temple known as the "Corridor of Fire." They storm the site and attempt to overtake them, but they are repulsed by the natives and giant-sized Metal Slugs. This incident makes it clear that the enemy behind the pilfering of Metal Slug secrets is the Ptolemaic Army. The Regular Army is no longer the only army to utilize Metal Slug tanks from this point on; the Ptolemaic Army used them all through the Ptolemaic War and the Ptolemaics even made their own variants. Technical details The SV-001 is a small, silver or gunmetal gray tank and is the very first "Super Vehicle" developed by the Regular Army. It weighed 2850 kilograms (but still light enough to be air-lifted), and is 2163mm in height, 2266mm in width, and 2575mm in length. The tank also featured a digital all-bearings antenna, a periscope with thermal and night vision functionality, navigation and GPS systems, and is powered by a Hobten T-659G air-cooled Superconductivity Diesel Turbine Generator with an output of 12.00EP. It also has a top speed of 36 km/h (or 22.4 mph), slower than the famous M4 Sherman. The Metal Slug also has modular, 100mm thick armor plating consisting of depleted uranium, ceramic, and reinforced plastic (possibly kevlar). It also has a mine plow on the front of the chassis, but it had often failed to deploy and is unreliable. The vehicle can jump over obstacles using special hydraulic systems that operate at a pressure of 25,000 PSI. The hydraulics also allow the tank to crouch forward. Its claw-shaped treads are designed for maximum traction, and to climb over steep hills. The tank is armed with a 127mm low-pressure rifled main cannon and two three-barreled 12.6mm (.50) caliber Vulcan cannons (though in some official artwork, the Vulcans are often depicted as having more than three barrels). The main gun is located directly at the front like most tanks and fires large, high explosive shells that detonate on impact; the shells can be reloaded on the fly from a container should the vehicle run out (SV-001's tend to come with a 10-shell preset amount). However, the rifled barrel couldn't allow the shells to travel too far when they are fired, making for poor armor-piercing capability. However, what the shells lacked in range, they made up for in size and explosive power. The cannon is also capable of using special ammunition, such as high velocity armor-piercing shells. The 12.6mm Vulcan cannons are fully controllable by the user and capable of turning 360 degrees with no delay and a continuous stream of seemingly unlimited rounds are shot at very high rates of fire when used. However, the Vulcans are supported by weak frames, making them susceptible to falling out of place or being easily destroyed by enemy fire. On the sides of the main turret are smoke bomb launchers, but these could never be used during gameplay. Crouching opens the entry hatch, through which grenades could be thrown. The grenades are independent of the cannon's ammo system. The vehicle can also run over infantry and perform a highly damaging suicide attack, with the driver jumping clear and the tank ramming into and exploding upon the target. The vehicle can take three direct hits (four in the later titles) before it is destroyed. Although impervious to Rebel infantry, they can still grope onto the vehicle or the cannon (front bore) to try and prevent it from firing and cause damage if not shot or shaken off. They do such things in a humorous way, though. One unused animation depicts one of the clinging Rebels throwing a grenade down the entry hatch. The main flaw of the SV-001 series lies in the tank's height and top-heavy weight distribution, causing it to tip over at inconvenient times, especially when firing the 127mm cannon. Another problem is its very high radar cross section, making it susceptible to high-speed guided missiles. Supplies Note: If the player marches by foot, each one of these items scores 1000 points instead. SV-001 versions Versions used by the Regular Army, each one shows the evolution of the SV-001. Variants Versions based on data stolen from the Regular army. Slug Variants Enemy Variants Appearances in other series SNK Vs. Capcom: CHAOS The SV-001 makes a very brief cameo in the Mars People's ending, where Marco Rossi uses it to ride into battle against the Martians, who were attacking New York City. Neo-Geo Battle Coliseum Marco Rossi is capable of summoning a presumably unmanned SV-001 Metal Slug to perform certain Desperation Moves. Marco can order the Metal Slug to either ram into his opponents, or fire its cannon at them. The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2 In this game, there exists a mission where an SV-001 Metal Slug must be destroyed within a 60 second time limit. The Metal Slug attacks with its cannon and is presumably unmanned. The arena is also filled with mines and a laser. Once destroyed, it will self-destruct in the same manner as in the main Metal Slug games. Trivia *Unlike its arcade counterparts, the SV-000 in Metal Slug: 1st Mission and SV-001 in 2nd Mission have the ability to turn around by tapping the opposite direction twice. *The design of the SV-001 was believed to have been inspired by the mini-tank "Bonaparte" from the manga series Dominion: Tank Police.http://hardcoregaming101.net/tracing/tracing4.htm However, it was revealed in an interview with one of the developers that the Metal Slug tank design was not taken from Dominion. http://imgur.com/t0pc16N *The earliest known design of the SV-001 also has a resemblance to Bonaparte, in which it has two sets of treads, a singular Vulcan gun, and a short-barreled main cannon. However, the pilot is exposed to enemy attack, along with not having the hydraulics for jumping, or any armor plating protecting the treads. *Another early design of the Metal Slug was closer to the finalized version, except with a singular machine gun on a rear turret with limited range, instead of the dual Vulcans. *There are two pieces of artwork for the original Metal Slug game, depicting the SV-001 with a simplified look and what appears to be high-caliber machine guns or autocannons in place of the Vulcans; one where the tank jumps onto a Rebel aircraft carrier, and another where it fires at armed zeppelins that may be an early concept of the Bura Gariae from Metal Slug 4. *The near-final design of the SV-001 had a more cartoonish look to it, with the parts having a rounded and separated look to them. *There are two unused animations for the Vulcan cannons; one in which their power cable flails after they fall off the tank, and one in which they float in a body of water, again with the power cable flailing, before sinking. *There was also concept art of humanoid mechas based on the SV-001's design. These mechs were set to appear in a planned spin-off of Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001. This was cancelled because to the staff's lack of interest, due to the fact that Metal Slug is supposed to be a WWII-inspired run n' gun game, not sci-fi. **It is also possible that these machines provided the inspiration for the Slug Gunner. Gallery File:Advanceslugcard.JPG|Metal Slug card from Metal Slug Advance File:MaxiSlug.jpg|Metal Slug in KOF: Maximum Impact 2 es:SV-001 (Metal Slug) Category:Regular Army Vehicles Category:Vehicles